Like Laax, but in France: the gentle ground travels, the mood stays home

Our matching puts Serre Chevalier second of the French resorts we cover for Laax, carrying over the share of gentle piste and the top, and it is the only one of the three that keeps up on height. Seventy two percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, the same share as Laax, and the skiing reaches 2,751 metres by our measure, 217 below yours. It is snow sure on our measure, as Laax is, and the village is higher, at 1,350 metres, 250 above Laax's.

The easy end carries over too. Thirty eight percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against your 37, and there are 91.4 kilometres of green and blue, against Laax's 57.4 of blue and easier. We measure 153 kilometres of piste around its villages, about 28 more than around Laax.

What changes is everything around that gentle ground. Twenty seven percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 14. The blues average 16.8 percent against your 14.4, and the reds 24.9 against 19.5, a little above even a typical French red. So the share of gentle piste is all but the same, but the runs ask more of you at every colour. The marked itinerary all but disappears, 1.7 kilometres against 27.7, which is the biggest difference our matching finds. And the mood is different: relaxed and sunny by our read, a string of old villages, best for tree skiing, sunshine and value, and quiet rather than modern. Fly to Turin or Grenoble.

Our matching puts Megève closest to Laax of all the French resorts we cover. The village is at 1,113 metres, 13 above Laax, and it is the only one of the three picks that keeps the upmarket label: elegant and calm by our read, with cobbled lanes, long easy cruising and fine dining on its list.

The cruising is the strong suit. There are 104.3 kilometres of green and blue, against your 57.4 of blue and easier, inside 189 kilometres measured around the village. Twenty percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 14, and the blacks average 23.3 percent, the gentlest of the 17 French resorts we cover and kinder than Laax's 25.5. The reds, at 23.1, are steeper than yours.

The trade is height, and it is a big one. The skiing tops out at 2,402 metres by our measure, 566 below Laax's, and only 15 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, so it is not snow sure on our measure. There are 5.2 kilometres of marked itinerary, and Megève is traditional and quiet, not modern. Strong skiers in the group have Chamonix a short drive away. Fly to Geneva.

If it is the kindness of Laax's piste you would miss, Samoëns has the gentlest mountain of the 17 French resorts we cover on two of our measures: the smallest share steeper than one in four, 19 percent, and the gentlest reds, averaging 19.9 percent against your 19.5. Forty percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, the joint fourth biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, and the longest piste we measure is a 6.3 kilometre red with 867 metres of vertical.

The catch is how low it sits. The village is at 720 metres, the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover and 380 below Laax, and 18 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, so it is not snow sure on our measure. We measure 89.5 kilometres of piste and 3.6 of itinerary. Our read is authentic and calm, a listed old village with a big area above it, best for families and value.